In December 2020, Warner Bros made the historic announcement that each of its films in 2021 will release simultaneously in theatres and on streaming on HBO Max. Luckily for movie fans, a new HBO Max trailer revealing footage from many of these movies, including big releases The Suicide Squad and Mortal Kombat, has finally dropped.
The Suicide Squad, the soft reboot to 2016's Suicide Squad, is one of the most anticipated major releases of 2021 by Warner Bros. The HBO Max trailer shows all of the "squad" members walking in sync through pouring rain, zooming in on Margot Robbie's popular Harley Quinn as she bites an apple and shares a look with Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag. Other clips later in the trailer provide looks at Harley Quinn in a red dress fighting with a gun and in the same dress running from danger alongside Polka-Dot Man and another character. There's also a clip of John Cena's Peacemaker and Idris Elba's Bloodsport in a comedic moment, with Bloodsport saying "No one likes a showoff" and Peacemaker intensely responding "Unless what they're showing off is dope as f***."
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Footage of the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie was also exciting to see, especially since the film had been majorly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Details of the film have been scarce, and there has been no trailer released yet. The HBO Max footage provides a few glimpses of what looks to be Sub-Zero in action, although no fatalities are shown yet. Additionally, the four leads can be seen looking out over what seems to be a mountainous desert, followed by a clip of Jessica McNamee's Sonya Blade saying "It's an invitation. To Mortal Kombat."
Several other major releases are teased in the HBO Max trailer. The trailer includes footage of Godzilla vs Kong, the trailer for which was recently released. There's quite a bit of footage of the upcoming musical In The Heights, based on the stage musical by Hamilton writer Lin-Manuel Miranda. Along with many others, there's brief clips of Space Jam: A New Legacy, Judas and The Black Messiah, and of course the highly anticipated epic, Dune.
Warner Bros.' decision to release each film simultaneously on HBO Max and in theatres caused a lot of discussion and controversy. Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarhoff cited "unprecedented times" as the reason for the decision, since theatres in most countries are likely to be closed or operating in limited capacity for most of 2021 due to COVID-19. Director Christopher Nolan criticized the decision, stating that the movies "are meant to be big-screen experiences… And now they're being used as a loss-leader for the streaming service." Others in the industry as well as theatres also criticized this move.
On the other hand, professionals such as AT&T CFO John Stephens spoke up in support of the decision. He said to an audience of investors, "This is a unique situation, and we can't change that. That is just the reality. So we are trying to keep this system moving healthily forward and to utilize the great content that is already there." With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many like John Stephens feel temporary changes and sacrifices must be made.
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Source: HBOMAX | Twitter
